Australian editor convicted, released in Burma

Bangkok, July 1, 2011--Ross
Dunkley, founder and editor of the Myanmar
Times newspaper, was convicted of assault and set free for time already
spent in detention by a Burmese court on Thursday.

The verdict,
which carried a 30-day jail term, acquitted Dunkley of other charges viewed by many
journalists as trumped up by authorities to put pressure on his news
operation.

The
conviction represented an automatic breach of Burmese immigration laws that
carried a possible six months in prison or 100,000 kyat (US$120) fine. Dunkley,
an Australian national, opted to pay the fine and told reporters outside the
court room that he planned to appeal the verdict.

He was first arrested
on the charges on February 10 and released on bail on March 27 while his case
was still pending. After his arrest, he was accused of assaulting,
drugging, and detaining a woman whom press reports identified as a prostitute.
Dunkley denied all the charges.The
woman had tried to
drop the charges, but it was disallowed by the court. Dunkley faced a potential
15 years in prison if convicted of all the charges filed against him.

Burma's newly
installed democratic government has sent signals
it will allow for more press freedom, including an end to prior censorship of
non-news publications.

"We welcome
the resolution of Ross Dunkley's case, but reiterate our concerns that the
charges were initially politically motivated," said Bob
Dietz, CPJ's Asia program
coordinator. "With newly elected President Thein Sein's recent commitment to
allow for more press freedom, we would hope such arbitrary harassment is a
relic of Burma's military-run past."

News reports
noted at the time that Dunkley's arrest coincided with intense negotiations
between Dunkley and his government-linked Burmese partners about the
publication's future management, strategy and ownership. Days after his arrest,
Tin Tun Oo, Dunkley's local partner, assumed Dunkley's position as chief
executive of the local-foreign joint venture.

Apart from
state mouthpiece newspapers, all Burmese news publication--including the Myanmar Times--are subjected to strict
prior censorship, forcing them to publish on a weekly rather than daily basis.
There has been no indication so far that Thein Sein's government intends to end
that practice.